One technique for reproducing a desired target color using a printing system is a color separation process. Color separation has traditionally been a matter of deciding what quantities of each of several inks (or other colorants) to use to achieve a given color. Setting up an end-to-end color pipeline involves defining a color separation, a device color interface (typically RGB or CMYK), building an ICC profile on top of this interface and a mechanism to calibrate these resources to a nominal, reference state is complex and time consuming.